Combination unit way-bill system.



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A. I.. IRI/III I W. E. SIDELL. COMBINMIQII uw WAY BILL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2?. ISIS.

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COMBINATION UNH WAY Bm SYSTEM APPLCATEON FLLD MAYI, 1918.

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,nncHrsALn L. Invin Anm WILLIAM infernalie.,

- To all whom it may concermg Speccation. of Letters Patent.

)Be it known that we, ARCHIBALD L. Irvin and WILLIAM El SIDELL,

both citizens of the United States, andvresidents of New York,

th in the county Improvements in Combination Bill Systems, of which tliefollowing is a specification 10 `l-eretofore it has been the custom et" the i various freight carriers to issue bills of ladingto theshipper, retaininga copy in their` records from which revenue waybills are issued to the point ofA destination. 15

bill showing the date,

These ills are as a rule entered upon a large Way car number, station.

from, station to, naine of shipper, consignee,

lading,1 `Weight, -rate and Copies of this bill are taken waybill is sent by inail nation.

freight charges. A and the original v to the agent at desti- In addition the forwarding agent inakes u Aa conductors runnin:lr sli which cai-ries the information contained `upon the waybill. 25

AIt frequently occurs thatl the agent for-- wards the ca r to one destination and the waybill to another thereby causing needless d cla ys.

Upon the arrival of the car a waybill at destination the receiving agent 30 proceeds to make Afreight bill, casliiers slip,

out an arrival notice,

and delivery receipt; and in addition to these a record has to be iuade of tliefonwarding of the arrival of an envelop or card and the making of an office record. to lThis separate and first, the waybill, second,

e making up of addinotice, and the Aaddressing the notice.

`prove `the forwarding of at least four method requires distinct writings,

the carA card, third, th Ii0 tional slips, and fourth, the sending out the notice.

books in four separate and lnjcaseof loss to all of these records inust be looked up brought together again.

` All of this ordinarily requires four sets of nien and at least four sets-of` distinct places. or damage claim tracing, etc.;

One of the main objects of our invention is to reduce to the lowest possible minimum necessary to the railroads `or other as the billing of carrying out our provide a novel construction all of the various forwarding agent the appropriate forms the cost no `freight carriers, so fai' 'freight is concerned. In invention We and arrangement whereby forms are made out by the at a single lwriting, heilig carried along with the slnpment destination. lill ...m-...nm

Qratentea ren, ie,

Application tiled May 21, 19178. Serial No. militent.

at any time. lllie niaking'out of all oiithe forms atene writing reduces to a minimum the possibility of mistakes due 'to careless copying. Unnecessary labor andv expenseiis avoided and time and material. is saved and the records are of such forni that gtliey may be conveniently led and readily accessible.

.ln Atlie acconipanyiing; drawings we hare shown one embodiment of our invention but it .will be eifident that various changes, onii sions, and additions may be inade within the scope of our invention to take care oi' diilere ent freight conditions. The number and character of forms inay be varied in accord ance with the dieerent kinds of freight, the necessity for transferring from one line to another, and the particular requirements oi" the ditereiit carriers.

l n these drawings:

Figure l is a face View of the container upon which the original record. is made.

Fig. is a rear view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a face view oli the combined. en relop and arrival notice, portions of the eniclop being folded back.

Fig, ai is a transverse section of the parte shown in Fig. `3.

Figs. 5 to 12 inclusive are ii'ace views oit various slips which may be carried in the outer container, said slips Aconstituting original waybill, 'freight bill, cashiers slip, de livery slip, transfer passing slip, @opy of waybill, station record and oar iard, and

1 ig. 13 is a transverse section through the container and the inclosed slips, said section showing the parts greatly magnified in thickness and spaced apart, it lbeing understood that in practice the sheets are thin and lie close together within the container.

The container shown in Figs. l and 2 may be an ordinary envelop having front and back .walls l0 and l1 with an ordinary seal ing flap 12 along one edge, for instance ou one side. The other three edges Ainay be closed inA any stance, by narrow sealing flaps. of the envelop is suitably ruled and. provided with suitable legends to indicate the positions of the entries to be yshown these include such iiiitial,

data Y as the car suitable manner, as for in- 'lhe trent v made thereon. its

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lllltl the haelt of tie container may be riva! signee, routine", freight charges, etc. Upon suitably ruled and designated spaces for data regarding the sealing, icing, etc.; which may be filled in by the conductor or other official while iitecar is in transit.

il hin the outer container or envelop there is placed a second container', envelop, or folder et such a character that it may be sent through the mail, shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The face 13 ot' this may bear any desired Jrinted matter to indicate the tact that it contains the arrival notice and it may have the necessary postage stump applied thereto at the time it is placed in the main container and the data iilled in on the face of the latter. lllithin this envelop is the arrival notice la. This may have substantially the same rulings and legends as the front 10 ot the. main container' except that it preferahly also bears the statement to the effect that the property described in the body of 'the notice has arrived at a particular station and it may also bear a ruled and properly legended section within which may be inserted the pier ninnber, freight station, or other point at which the consignes may find his goods. As above stated the arrival notice 14 is Within the inner envelop so as to be mailed in the latter to the eonsignee. 'Preferably the arrival notice is printed` directly upon the inner surface of the baclroi the envelop which latter may be lett open at looth endsl By tearing open the envelop at one side itl may' loe opened out and the arrival notice; read. f

To duplicate on the arrival notice the data `which Was iilled in on the front ot the main yelop or container, there is a layer 15' ot' `rroducingv iterial within the inner envelop and operatively positioned in respect to the arrival notice. So vfar as the4 present invention is concerned it is ,immaterial whether this layer be in the form ot' a sepa.- rate carbon sheet or be in the form of' a coating on the inner surface of the front w all 13 of the envelop, By means of this inner envelop containing the arrival notice it is unnecessary tor the agent at the destination to do other than remove the envelop from the outer container and mail it, as the addressing of the envelop to the eonsignee is aecomplished at the time the consignees name and address is filled in on the -front of the outer container. To secure this result a small sheet of reproducing material is positioned Within the outer container beneath the portion of the fr -ont wall upon which appears the consignees name and address. it thc arrival not ire and its envelop is lo be placed in the onta-r container ydirectly in contact with the trout Wall ot said cont ainer then the innersurface ot said *front ivali may have directly applied thereto the layer of reproducing material i6 as shown `in Il. Thus When the data is filled in on the front ot the outer envelop all of this data will bc reproduced on the arrival notice but only the consignces name and` address will be reproduced on the front or' the' arrival notice envelop. As a further important advantage ot' this feature ot' the construction, it will be noted that the reproducing sheet 15 is in the arrival notice envelop at the time the latter is mailed. Therefore, the postmaster age stamp and applying his data and place stamp will automatically reproduce this place and date stamp on the arrival notice itself within the envelop. r1`his will priclude the possibility of disputes arising as to when the arrival notice was mailed and as to when the demurrage charges begin to aecrue.

Within the container are a series ot' slips and interleaved reproducing layers. All of these may have substantially the same ruling and legends as the front of the container and the arrival notice. In Figs. 5 to 12 inclusive, ive have shown various ot' these slips indicating only the top and bottom of each. the intermediate portion being covered by the sheet ol` reproducing material disposed above the slip and by means ot' which the data is entered on the slip. Each slip has its appropriate heading and may also have appropriate places for signatures, stamps, or other data. Among these slips there is profe 'ably an original waybill -17, a freight hill 18, a eashiers slip 19, a delivery slip 2,0, a transfer passing slip '21. a copy of the wayhill 22, a station record 23, and a car card 24. All ot' these are automatically filled out by the writing, printing or stamping oli the data on the front ot the container. The container is used as the cond nctors running slip and serves as a conveyor for the other slips and at the final destination. serves as a file to which most ot the slips are eventuall)y returned. The reproducing sheets rcmain in the container until ill has performed all of its functions. It is immaterial in most respects whether these layers ci reproduring material bc in the torni ot separate inter-leaved sheets or Whether each be formed on the back of the slip above. lt theI arrival notice envelop he placed at the troni in the. container, then it is preferable that a separate carbon sheet be used beneath this envelop to secure the reproduction of the data` on the first slip therebeneath to avoid the coating of the back of the arri val notice envelop with the reproducing material.

The original Waybill follows thecar to destination. ll'hen the container arrives at destination there is usually given what is known as a pro-number, a progressive number. This can `be applied to the container and the various slips therein b v thc use ot an automatic numbering machine. a typewriter, or pencil and such number will apin canceling the postllli - the freight Elli lili

expedite the worlr neueste pear on ell' of the forms, the Weybill i11- cluded. The receiving agent nia/lies all ot his entries trom the original waybill. U on the surrender ci' the arrival notice or ill et lading and upon payment of the freight changes, the consignes is given n receipt Jfor his money, such receipt being' the freight bill i8 Which has at the bottom e proper space for the signature ot the agent. This slip is ordinerily presented. hy the consignee to the' spent beiore he een receive his freight.

The slip l@ is placed on file by the cashier and Written up later in a memo. cosh book. At the time he receives the cosh it is not necessery ttor him to "molte any entries o1' other-- wise deley the rapidhendling of the teensection.

y] pnyment of the freight charges the consipgnee presents his paid freight bill to the ptoper clerlt and receives his freight, the section and locution being noted on the freight hill. The consignes upon receiving signs the delivery slip ,which is retained hy the ugent delivering the freight endeventually iinds its way 'hachinto the original container elonp,1 with any reports of Aloss or demnge and any tracers orcorrcspondence relative to `this particular shipment. ,f l

the .is to he ti'unsterred `from one roilioed t another at some trensier point, it

he desirtthle Athett'he sgent at the moy of y transfer point lteep s record notfonly of the car hut ot the contents thereotl and other dote. '.lt is merely necessary for him to eX- tract from the container the trensier passing/ slip 2l end retain it as his record of the fact that such. e vvus transferred. He can entes: on it the time or other data desired. it the cer is to poss through several junction points, ther may .he e corresponding number of these transfer passing slips 21.

lfn case it is desired or necessary for the carriers to-nccompuny the Woyhills with the cor, ovvin a the diverting of shipments cn rou/5c to destination via the shortest route, confusion enditrouhle ol'ten arise owing to the difficulty in hemp; able to trace shipments. A., copy ot the Waybill 22 may be carried in the container and serve only'v to meet such emergencies. This is not to be used. as e regular Wsybill hut simply es an advance notice to the neceivinpV agent in order that he may keep in touch with the cer en route and he in o. position vto give the consigne/e some advice when requested to do so. lli/'hen e lange in the routing is made this copy ol? the wayhill muy he extracted, the necessary 'information Written thereon, and forwarded to the receiving ugent.

'ln addition to the other slips above referred to, there preferably e station record 23 which by the forwerding is retnined agen-t es a permanent record. in order to "I o sind reduce clerical enbearing the different pense, it is the intention that this slip shall i at the same time and which is intended to be tacked upon the side ot" thecar and remain thereon until the csr arrives at desti-v nation and the ered.

The conductor carries the outer container as his running slip and delivers itand its contents over to each succeeding conductor Who may take-charge of the car o1' the train. Various slips are extracted therefrom es occasion demands and although these slips may, if desired., bekept on file in the various oflices, yet most of them preferably are returned to some one oliicc and' replaced and stored in the container.

signatures oinotations will malte up a complete record of the transaction from beginning to end and the con` recel-ve such correspondence,

tainei may also inquiries, claims tor damages o1' loss, and other documents relating to the shipment.` Thus the entire record is available at one point and may be `very easily iently investigated at any time. v i

s has been previously indicated certain i of the slips above referred to may be omitted Working conditionsdo not demand themf or certain additional slips may he provided. rlhe slips may be printed in different type or on diiierent color paper classified in accordance with, the character' of the freight or other information. instance, all ot' the containers and slips used for perishable freight may be of one' color, that for other kinds of other colors. 0hviously somewhat different rulings end legends will be required when the carload is made up of different kinds of shipments than what will. serve when the car has n car load shipment from one shipper to one c011- signee. :it used for local freight, obviously no passing transfer slip need bc employed and if only one routing is possible the slip 22 constituting e copy of the Waybill need not be included. The various slips may be made of comparatively thin paper although preferably the slip 24 constituting the car card is of somewhat thicker material so as to he 'less readily torn or injured While tacked on the cer. This .may be. of comparatively stili materiel and placed on the back of the series of slips so as to form a support and facilitate the making of proper 'impressions on all of the slips.

Having thus described our invention what We cleim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. mln combination, a container having one fece thereof constituting a conductors running slip and suitably ruled and rovided with suitable legends to indicate t e posiand convenn o1' otherwise bear des1gnat1ng marks whereby they `may loe For goods unloaded and `deliv-v The diii'erent slips tainer ot' a character adapted to be sent `through the mail, an arrival notice within said envelop and having rulings and legends corresponding to those of the face of said container, reproducing material within said envelop and reproducing material within said container opposite the record space for the consignees name and address, whereby the arrival notice may be filled in, and the envelop addressed by the filling in ot the eonductors running slip.

2. In combination, an outer envelop, a. second envelop separate therefrom. and disposed therein, a slip within said second envelop, said vslip and the face of the outer envelop having similar legends and similar record spaces for receiving data including a naine and address, a reproducing inaterial Within said envelop and covering substantially all ot the record spares of said slip, and reproducingl material within said outer envelop and in front of substantially only the portion of the inner envelop covering the name and address space of said slip.

In combination, an outer envelop, a series of slips therein, and inter-leaved with reproducing material, said slips and the face of the envelop being similarly ruled and having similar legends indicating record spaces for receiving data regarding a freight shipment and including character, weight, shipping point, destination, shipper, consignee, etc., of the freight, the envelop serving as a eonductors running slip and serving to carry said slips during the ship-- inent and to finally receive and store certain of said slips after the completion of the transaction, the data being filled in on all or" said slips by means of said reproducing material during-the filling in of the face ot the envelop, and said slips serving as ar rival notice, freight bill, vvaybill,` delivery slip, etc.

il. ln combination, an outer envelop or container` an inner envelop disposed and Separate thrrctrmn and et a cli ir adapted to he sent through ne mai a sli i wit-hin said inner enrclop and constituting an arrival notice, slips sonst itnting 1 bill, a vvay hill, and a delivery slit` .c iin said outer envelop, all ot' said slips, and the, face of said outer envelop being similarly ruled and having rsimilar legends and record receiving` spaces. and ripr-nltHJ-,ing material in front ol each ol said sli 5. ln combination. an outer envelop or container, an inner envelop disposed therein and separate theretroni and ol.' a fflniracler adapted to he sont through the inail, a, slip within said inner envelop and constituting an arrival notice. yslips constituting a 'ii-eight bill, a wayliill, and a delivery slip within said outer envelop, all ot and the face olf said outer envelop let-ing .inilarly ruled and having' similar legends and record receiving spares, ropa-minchia material in front of earh ot said slipsy and noveiinr sulostantiallj,v all ol the rororo soa', t of, and a separate rnprodining material in front or that portion ot tinl inner envelop registering with a naine and address spare et said slips.

tl. ln combinaticni. an outer emeltp having its ,front surface serving as a coinlnotoifs running slip, a series of slips disposed there4 in` the separate slips adapted to servo as a' .freight bill, a, wayliiil` a car card. a cash ier`s slip, and a delivery slip, rcprodin'ing material within said envelop in front each ol said slips, certain ol' the record 1- ceiving spaces ol nach slip ref rA ria; \vherto \l the entry of data upon the of the envelop clients entry of ihn .saine data in the correspoinliing; spaces ol' the eral slips, said envelop serving to carry said slips during the shipment ci' the freight, and .servino as a perinanmit :storage or filing container lor certain ol' said slips upon the completion i t 1hr iran.

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